I love google maps and their street view but Microsoft Bing Maps is taking it to another level. Pretty awesome stuff. http://www.bing.com/maps/explore/ <object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/BlaiseAguerayArcas_2010-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/BlaiseAgueraYArcas-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=766&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=blaise_aguera;year=2010;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2010;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/BlaiseAguerayArcas_2010-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/BlaiseAgueraYArcas-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=766&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=blaise_aguera;year=2010;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2010;"></embed></object>
I've got a major nerd-boner right now. That's freaking awesome. I can only hope that it works half as well as their demonstration.
Possible... Spoiler <embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-8363127660275444169&hl=en&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed> In all seriousness though, this thing is an awesome toy. I used Bing maps when I was looking at houses last year because their areal views were so much better than anything else. Google Earth, eat your heart out.
do you get the 'practical use' of google's 'streetview'? This is amazing. Though fraught with privacy issues....
If y'all have the time, should putter around www.ted.com. Some real interesting stuff videos on there, and it sparks the nerd-boy interest in me every time.
Yeah, I mean, but why do I need anything more than what google has already created? I don't see what this adds to the equation.
Come on man, use your imagination. Imagine what this could do for live news and blogging, for example, once 4G networks become commonplace and we have mobile devices capable of broadcasting. Want to know what's happening at an exact place on the earth right now? Just go there on the map and find someone live-videoblogging. Trying to decide where to go to eat on a busy Sunday afternoon, check out the restaurant and see what the scene is like right from your phone. Augmented reality applications -- instead of just seeing a static image, you're getting a live stream of information about a particular spot. Heck, you could strike up a conversation with strangers at a coffee shop without ever leaving your bedroom. Even if all these applications don't see the light of day, Google Street Maps in its current form is just a static image that could be a couple of years old or more. With Photosynth, MS essentially crowdsources up-to-date images from Flickr so that store that was just opened last week actually shows up on your map. That by itself is a big improvement.
Go to the Bing maps. Click "Map Apps". Click "Haiti Earthquake". Look at some of the destruction BEFORE and after photos by clicking the radio buttons on the left pane. Be sad. The Stadium got filled with people without houses.
Good stuff. MS is finally stepping up their innovation game thanks to Google and Apple. Their current birds-eye views are better quality than Google's satellite views. I think similar technology was used at Obama's inauguration.
